CRUNCH LOOK FOR WEEKEND SWEEP OF ROCKET
The Crunch are out in search of a two-game sweep of the Laval Rocket this afternoon at Place Bell in their final game of 2024.
Syracuse took the opening leg last night, 4-1, in the first game following the holiday break.
This is the ninth time the teams have met in two straight games at Place Bell; the Crunch have never swept the Rocket in such instances.
BROADCAST COVERAGE
Countdown to Crunch Time at 2:45 p.m.
Streaming: Pay-to-watch video via AHLTV on FloHockey | www.syracusecrunch.com/watch
Radio: ESPN Radio Syracuse | www.espncny.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Crunch stifled the Laval Rocket for a 4-1 win at Place Bell last night.
Syracuse hopped out to a 1-0 lead just over six minutes into the first period. Max Groshev won a race to negate a potential icing before sweeping a puck on goal. Daniel Walcott drilled home the rebound at 6:08 to put the Crunch up 1-0.
They expanded that lead in the second period with a pair of tallies. Milo Roelens made it 2-0 by stuffing home a rebound at the right post 1:21 into the period. Roman Schmidt cashed in at 14:19 with a blueline shot that tipped off a Laval stick for a 3-0 Crunch lead.
The Rocket didn't get on the board until Tyler Wotherspoon's one-timer off a faceoff at 10:56 of the third period. The Crunch answered back just over a minute later when Jack Finley converted off a pass from Gabe Fortier to make it 4-1. Matt Tomkins made 22 saves to earn his fourth win this season.
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
The Crunch emerged from the holiday break to earn their third win in the last four games last night. Now 4-2-3-0 through nine December games, the Crunch have secured a better than 0.500 record in the month with only one game remaining in 2024. The Crunch have not won five games in a single month yet this season; they won four both in October (4-3-0-0) and November (4-4-1-3).
Syracuse improved to 12-9-4-3 overall this season and the team jumped past the Belleville Senators into fifth place in the North Division with 31 points.
Twelve different players contributed to the Crunch's four goals last night; no player logged more than one point. Daniel Walcott snapped a 15-game goal drought by scoring his first goal since Nov. 13 at Belleville. Milo Roelens's tally in the second period was his fourth of the season and it held up as his first career game-winning goal.
ROAD WORK AHEAD
The Crunch are in the middle of their longest stretch of road games this season. The five-game swing began with a pair of games last week at Rochester, where the Crunch earned a split against the Americans.
Syracuse plays in Laval for the final time this season after the Crunch earned a win last night. They then ring in 2025 with a New Year's Day contest against the Toronto Marlies at Coca-Cola Coliseum in the first of three visits to Toronto this season.
The Crunch are 7-6-2-0 on the road this season, including a 3-2-1-0 mark in December. Laval (9-3-1-1, 0.714) and Toronto (11-1-0-2, 0.857) have two of the best home records in the AHL so far this season. The Rocket suffered only their third regulation home loss last night against the Crunch.
SCOUTING THE ROCKET
The Rocket are in the midst of a six-game homestand, which concludes next weekend with a two-game set against Abbotsford. The Rocket won the first two games of the homestand against Belleville and Springfield last week before they had their three-game winning streak snapped by the Crunch last night. The loss dropped the Rocket (18-9-1-1) into second place in the North Division with 38 points.
Despite the loss, Joshua Roy found the scoresheet with an assist and he leads the Rocket in scoring with 24 points (12g, 12a) in 24 games. He is tied for the team lead in goals with Jared Davidson and in game-winning goals (4) with Owen Beck. A rookie, Beck has surged to second on the team in scoring with 21 points (7g, 14a) in 29 games. His overtime game-winning goal in Syracuse on Dec. 4 was part of a six-game scoring streak.
Connor Hughes started last night and suffered the loss to fall to 8-6-1/2.54/.903 in 15 games this season. Jakub Dobes was recalled to Montreal early in the day yesterday, leaving Luke Cavallin (1-0-0/1.38/.926) as the other goaltender for the Rocket. Cavallin lost his two appearances against the Crunch last season while with the Toronto Marlies.
CRO'S RETURN
Defenseman Max Crozier returned to the Crunch lineup last night after missing the previous 13 games due to injury. The second-year-pro last suited up on Nov. 16 at Utica before being sidelined up until last night.
The Providence College product marked his return by picking up an assist and finishing with a game-high plus-3 rating. Crozier has two points (1g, 1a) in 15 games this season.
The 24-year-old split time last year between Syracuse and Tampa Bay. He picked up two assists in 13 NHL games for the Lightning. He also had 21 points (4g, 17a) in 49 Crunch games to cap a strong rookie campaign.
BAD BLOOD
The intense rivalry between the Crunch and Rocket played out on the ice again last night. This time it culminated with rookies Dylan Duke and Owen Beck dropping the mitts for a fight in the second period.
It was the second career fight for both players. Duke also fought Xavier Simoneau in Laval on Oct. 18 in the first match of the season between the teams. Beck's previous fighting major was on Nov. 29 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
There have been three fights this season in five games between the teams. In addition to Duke's two scraps against the Rocket, Kale Kessy and Vincent Arseneau fought on Oct. 18.
